frood

English

Alternative forms

• frewd

Etymology

From Middle English *frood, *frode, *frod, from Old English frōd (“wise, prudent; experienced, old”), from Proto-Germanic *frōdaz (“wise, clever”), from Proto-Indo-European *prāt- (“to understand”). Cognate with North Frisian frod, Saterland Frisian frod, Dutch vroed (“wise, knowing”), Swedish frod (“wise, experienced, mature”), Icelandic fróður (“knowledgeable”), Lithuanian prõtas (“mind, reason, understanding”).

Adjective

frood (comparative frooder or more frood, superlative froodest or most frood)

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England) Shrewd; sagacious; wary; cautious.
   • 1973, Stanley Price, George Ruffhead, Newton-on-Ouse Local History Group, Three Yorkshire villages:

     To the north of the Airfield the Rabbit Hills still retain heathland vegetation on the sandy soils and are probably the site of the 'frood' warren mentioned in an old survey, being at the time an important source of food.

References

• Wright, The English Dialect Dictionary, Frood.